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| Coronavirus: Government orders 10,000 ventilators from Dyson | Coronavirus: Government orders 10,000 ventilators from Dyson |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The government has ordered 10,000 ventilators from Dyson to help deal with the coronavirus crisis. | The government has ordered 10,000 ventilators from Dyson to help deal with the coronavirus crisis. |
| The firm, headed by British inventor Sir James Dyson, said it had designed a new type of ventilator in response to a call on behalf of the NHS. | The firm, headed by British inventor Sir James Dyson, said it had designed a new type of ventilator in response to a call on behalf of the NHS. |
| The order is still subject to the devices passing stringent medical tests but that is expected to happen quickly. | The order is still subject to the devices passing stringent medical tests but that is expected to happen quickly. |
| Dyson has had hundreds of engineers working round the clock to design the ventilators from scratch. | Dyson has had hundreds of engineers working round the clock to design the ventilators from scratch. |
| Blitz spirit | Blitz spirit |
| It hopes to build the ventilators at scale from its UK base in Wiltshire - using aircraft hangars that were used to stuff parachutes in the second world war. | It hopes to build the ventilators at scale from its UK base in Wiltshire - using aircraft hangars that were used to stuff parachutes in the second world war. |
| However, the blitz spirit the company is keen to channel will not produce immediate results. | However, the blitz spirit the company is keen to channel will not produce immediate results. |
| It is thought that even if regulatory approval is forthcoming, it could take a couple of weeks to move from prototype to the device being made in significant scale. | |
| What is a ventilator? | What is a ventilator? |
| Dyson - which is working with The Technology Partnership, a medical company based in Cambridge - is not the only game in town. | |
| In the meantime, the government has told the BBC that is "picking the low-hanging fruit" by buying as many existing models as it can. | In the meantime, the government has told the BBC that is "picking the low-hanging fruit" by buying as many existing models as it can. |
| Currently, the NHS has just over 8,000 ventilators, the government thinks it can procure a further 8,000 from existing domestic and international suppliers. | Currently, the NHS has just over 8,000 ventilators, the government thinks it can procure a further 8,000 from existing domestic and international suppliers. |
| However, it estimates that the NHS will need at least 30,000 to deal with the potential flood of virus victims. | However, it estimates that the NHS will need at least 30,000 to deal with the potential flood of virus victims. |
| The race is on | The race is on |
| By way of comparison, the state of New York has targeted the same number of 30,000 required ventilators, even though it has a population one third the size of the UK's. | By way of comparison, the state of New York has targeted the same number of 30,000 required ventilators, even though it has a population one third the size of the UK's. |
| The race has been on for weeks to produce tens of thousands of ventilators to keep people with Coronavirus-related breathing difficulties alive. | The race has been on for weeks to produce tens of thousands of ventilators to keep people with Coronavirus-related breathing difficulties alive. |
| In one corner is vacuum and hairdryer maker, Dyson. | In one corner is vacuum and hairdryer maker, Dyson. |
| In another is a consortium of manufacturing companies including Airbus and GKN, which makes parts for cars and planes. | In another is a consortium of manufacturing companies including Airbus and GKN, which makes parts for cars and planes. |
| The approaches of these two groups are very different. | The approaches of these two groups are very different. |
| Dyson insiders have told the BBC they have a working prototype, designed and built from scratch, which has been tested on humans and is "ready to go". | Dyson insiders have told the BBC they have a working prototype, designed and built from scratch, which has been tested on humans and is "ready to go". |
| Meanwhile, the consortium of medical, military and civil engineering companies - which includes Airbus, Meggit, GKN and others - is working to ramp up the production of an existing design. | Meanwhile, the consortium of medical, military and civil engineering companies - which includes Airbus, Meggit, GKN and others - is working to ramp up the production of an existing design. |
| Usually, these processes would take months or even years. | Usually, these processes would take months or even years. |
| It is a measure of the current emergency that the decision making process has been reduced to days. | It is a measure of the current emergency that the decision making process has been reduced to days. |